VADENI’S victory in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby was the highlight of a great Sunday for His Highness the Aga Khan as an owner, breeder and stallion owner.

The success for the three-year-old colt was also welcomed by the Coolmore group, providing as it did a classic winner among the first crop of runners for their dual 2000 Guineas hero, Churchill.

That son of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) won at up to a mile, his two Group 1 wins as a juvenile being supplemented by victories over Barney Roy and Al Wukair at Newmarket, and Thunder Snow and Irishcorrespondent (later renamed Exultant) in the Irish equivalent.

A first Group 1 winner for Churchill, one of five stakes winners to date, Vadeni is among nearly 50 individual winners for the dual champion who was crowned the best in European as a juvenile. The sire has a leading fancy also for the Group 1 German Derby in the shape of Queroyal.

Breeders this year have had access to Churchill for €25,000, down slightly from his initial fee of €10,000 more.

Some style

Vadeni won the Prix du Jockey Club in some style, powering clear of his rivals to land the classic by five lengths.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, he was a listed winner at Deauville last year, and had recently won the Group 3 Prix de Guiche at Chantilly in impressive fashion. This win gave the colt’s owner and breeder an eighth success in the Prix du Jockey Club, and this special achievement comes in the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the operation created by the late Aga Khan in 1922.

What a pedigree Vadeni possesses. He is the sixth foal and fifth winner for his dam Vaderana, and the third to earn blacktype. His half-sister Vadsena (Makfi) was, frustratingly, three times runner-up in listed races in France and is now at stud in Gilltown, while their older half-brother Vadiyann (Footstepsinthesand) was listed-placed in Australia.

Vaderana was trained by the now retired Alain de Royer-Dupré and gained her sole win at Le Mans as a three-year-old. She is one of seven successful offspring of Vadawina (Unfuwain), the 2005 Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary winner, five of whom earned some blacktype.

They were variously bred by the Aga Khan and by David and Diane Nagle at their Barronstown Stud. The latter couple bought Vadawina for €600,000 as an 11-year-old.

Paying dividends

At the time of her sale Vadawina’s best produce was Vadamar (Dalakhani), and his five victories included the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris. He had been Group 1-placed in Italy. The following year Vadamar’s full-sister Vedouma (Dalakhani) was a listed winner at two. Once again the Nagle’s investment was already paying dividends.

When she was bought Vadawina was carrying the subsequent winner Valcartier (Redoute’s Choice), and his sale as a yearling for €950,000 put the investment in profit. Her second foal for Barronstown was The Pentagon (Galileo), winner of the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at two and placed in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy.

Sadly, Vadawina had just one more offspring, Chablis (Galileo), but she hit the jackpot when selling as a yearling for 1,550,000gns and going on to be stakes-placed. Now at stud, Chablis’ first produce is a yearling filly by Lope De Vega (Shamardal).